Setting distance based relationship between users based on motion of mobile terminal operating in a social network system

ABSTRACT

Provided are a social network service providing system and method for setting a relationship between users based on a motion of a mobile terminal, and a distance determined by a user. The social network service providing system may include a request receiver to receive, from a mobile terminal, a request generated in accordance with a motion of the mobile terminal, an information providing unit to provide location information of the mobile terminal, and distance information determined by a user of the mobile terminal, a mobile terminal identifying unit to identify at least one other mobile terminal based on the location information and the distance information, and a user information providing unit to provide information about a user of the at least one other mobile terminal.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from and the benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2011-0039992, filed on Apr. 28, 2011, which is herebyincorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to a socialnetwork service providing system and method for setting a relationshipbetween users based on a motion of a mobile terminal, and a distancedetermined by a user.

2. Discussion of the Background

According to a conventional technology, in order to form a relationshipbetween users, a user should access a server using a user terminal, andtransfer, to the server, information, for example, a phone number, or anidentification (ID), of another user with whom the user desires to forma relationship such as an online friendship, and the like, by inputtingthe information using the user terminal. Then, the server places aninquiry as to whether the other user agrees to form the relationshipusing the information of the other user, and sets the relationshipbetween the users in accordance with a result of the inquiry.

That is, a series of processes, for example, a process of a useraccessing a server to provide information of another user with whom theuser desires to form a relationship, a process of the server finding theother user and reaching an agreement, and the like should be performed.Accordingly, problems exist in that such processes cause aninconvenience, incur fees, and consume a considerable amount of time onthe process providing information and placing an agreement inquiry.

Accordingly, a social network service providing system and method forefficiently setting a relationship between users will be providedherein.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only forenhancement of understanding of the background of the invention andtherefore it may contain information that does not form any part of theprior art nor what the prior art may suggest to a person of ordinaryskill in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention provide a social networkservice providing system and method that may form a personalrelationship such as a friendship between users through a motion ofgenerating a motion of a mobile terminal, for example, by shaking eachmobile terminal, bumping one mobile terminal and another mobile terminaltogether, or the like.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention also provide a socialnetwork service providing system and method that may provide, to a user,information about a user of another mobile terminal, using locationinformation of a mobile terminal and distance information determined bythe user, in response to a request generated through a motion of themobile terminal of the user.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention also provide a socialnetwork service providing system and method that may provide informationabout a user of another mobile terminal using a local time when arequest generated through a motion of a mobile terminal is transmitted,or an arrival time when the request is received.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention also provide a socialnetwork service providing system and method that may more accuratelyidentify a target mobile terminal to form a relationship with, using alocal time of a mobile terminal when a request is transmitted, or anarrival time when the request is received, in a case where locationinformation of the mobile terminal is inaccurate.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention also provide a socialnetwork service providing system and method that may reduce a waitingtime of a user by identifying another mobile terminal to form arelationship with at every predetermined time during a time perioddetermined by the user, and providing information about a user of theother mobile terminal.

Additional features of the invention will be set forth in thedescription which follows, and in part will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention discloses a socialnetwork service providing system, including a request receiving unitconfigured to receive, from a mobile terminal, a request generated inaccordance with a motion of the mobile terminal, an informationproviding unit configured to provide location information of the mobileterminal, and distance information determined by a user of the mobileterminal, a mobile terminal identifying unit configured to identify atleast one other mobile terminal based on the location information andthe distance information, and a user information providing unitconfigured to provide information about a user of the at least one othermobile terminal.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention also discloses a socialnetwork service providing method, including receiving, from a mobileterminal, a request generated in accordance with a motion of the mobileterminal, providing location information of the mobile terminal, anddistance information determined by a user of the mobile terminal,identifying at least one other mobile terminal based on the locationinformation and the distance information, and providing informationabout a user of the at least one other mobile terminal.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of theinvention, and together with the description serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration for a social networkservice providing method according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a method of searching for a mobileterminal based on location information and distance informationaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a method of searching for a mobileterminal based on location information, distance information, andinformation about a time according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a partial view of a screen of a mobileterminal to which information about a user is provided according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a socialnetwork service providing system according to an exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a social network service providingmethod according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a socialnetwork service providing system according to another exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a social network service providingmethod according to another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

The invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the inventionare shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplaryembodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments areprovided so that this disclosure is thorough, and will fully convey therange of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, thesize and relative sizes of layers and regions may be exaggerated forclarity. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being“connected to” another element, it can be directly connected to the atleast one other element, or intervening elements may be present. Incontrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connectedto” another element, there are no intervening elements present. It willbe understood that for the purposes of this disclosure, “at least one ofX, Y, and Z” can be construed as X only, Y only, Z only, or anycombination of two or more items X, Y, and Z (e.g., XYZ, XYY, YZ, ZZ).

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration for a social networkservice providing method according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. FIG. 1 illustrates a social network service providingsystem 100, a first mobile terminal 110, and a second mobile terminal120.

Here, the system 100 may correspond to a system that may basically formand maintain a personal relationship such as a friendship, and mayprovide an additional service based on the formed personal relationship,as necessary.

Additionally, the first mobile terminal 110 and the second mobileterminal 120 may refer to terminals owned by a first user and a seconduser, respectively. Although only two mobile terminals are provided inFIG. 1, a relationship may also be formed among users of at least threemobile terminals using the same method. According to exemplaryembodiments of the present invention, a request to form a personalrelationship may be transmitted from the mobile terminals to the system100, through motions of the mobile terminals.

That is, when a first user of the first mobile terminal 110 and a seconduser of the second mobile terminal 120 want to form a personalrelationship such as an online friendship, the first user and the seconduser may respectively perform a motion, for example, by shaking thefirst mobile terminal 110 and the second mobile terminal 120, by bumpingthe first mobile terminal 110 and the second mobile terminal 120together, or the like. In this instance, each of the first mobileterminal 110 and the second mobile terminal 120 may sense the motionusing a sensor, and may provide, to the system 100, a request generatedin accordance with the motion.

The system 100 may acquire location information of the first mobileterminal 110, and distance information determined by the first user inaccordance with the request received from the first mobile terminal 110.Additionally, the system 100 may acquire location information of thesecond mobile terminal 120, and distance information determined by thesecond user in accordance with the request received from the secondmobile terminal 120.

That is, the system 100 may acquire location information of a mobileterminal transmitting a request, and distance information determined bya user of the corresponding mobile terminal. Here, the locationinformation may be received by the system 100 through the correspondingmobile terminal, along with the request. The location information mayalso be received by the system 100 through a separate locationinformation providing system containing the location information of thecorresponding mobile terminal. Additionally, the distance informationmay be determined by a user of the corresponding mobile terminal, storedin the corresponding mobile terminal, and received by the system 100through the corresponding mobile terminal, along with the request. Also,the distance information may be received by the system 100, andpre-stored in the system 100 when the distance information is determinedby a user.

When the system 100 acquires the location information and the distanceinformation of each of the first mobile terminal 110 and the secondmobile terminal 120, the system 100 may determine a range for forming arelationship for each of the mobile terminals, based on the locationinformation and the distance information. Here, the location informationmay refer to current coordinates of a mobile terminal, and the distanceinformation may refer to information regarding a scope within which atleast one other mobile terminal may be searched for, on the basis of thecurrent coordinates of the mobile terminal.

For example, when the distance information corresponds to 50 meters (m),the system 100 may search for at least one other mobile terminalexisting within a 50 m radius from a current location of thecorresponding mobile terminal. In this instance, the mobile terminal tobe searched for may correspond to a mobile terminal which provided therequest to form a relationship through the aforementioned motion. Thatis, when the distance information determined by the first usercorresponds to 50 m, and a distance between the first mobile terminal110 and the second mobile terminal 120 corresponds to 5 m, the secondmobile terminal 120 may be included in the at least one other mobileterminal to be searched for by the system 100 in accordance with therequest of the first mobile terminal 110. Likewise, when the distanceinformation determined by the second user corresponds to 15 m, and adistance between the first mobile terminal 110 and the second mobileterminal 120 corresponds to 5 m, the first mobile terminal 110 may beincluded in the at least one other mobile terminal to be searched for bythe system 100 in accordance with the request of the second mobileterminal 120.

In this instance, the system 100 may identify the at least one othermobile terminal found, and may provide, to the mobile terminaltransmitting the request, information about a user of the at least oneother mobile terminal identified. That is, in the aforementionedexample, the system 100 may provide, to the first mobile terminal 110,information about a user of the second mobile terminal 120 in responseto the request of the first mobile terminal 110. Also, the system 100may provide, to the second mobile terminal 120, information about a userof the first mobile terminal 110 in response to the request of thesecond mobile terminal 120.

When a distance between the first mobile terminal 110 and the secondmobile terminal 120 corresponds to 20 m, the system 100 may identify thesecond mobile terminal 120 in accordance with the request of the firstmobile terminal 110, and may provide, to the first mobile terminal 110,the information about the user of the identified second mobile terminal120. However, since the distance information of the second mobileterminal 120 may correspond to 15 m, the first mobile terminal 110 maynot be found with respect to the request of the second mobile terminal120.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a method of searching for a mobileterminal based on location information and distance informationaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In FIG.2, a first arrow 210, a second arrow 220, and a third arrow 230 maysimply indicate two-dimensional (2D) locations based on locationinformation of a mobile terminal A, a mobile terminal B, and a mobileterminal C, respectively. Additionally, a first dotted curve 240, asecond dotted curve 250, and a third dotted curve 260 may indicate arange in which at least one other mobile terminal may be searched forbased on distance information of the mobile terminal A, the mobileterminal B, and the mobile terminal C, respectively.

In FIG. 2, from a point of view of the mobile terminal A, only themobile terminal B may be found within the range. From a point of view ofthe mobile terminal B, both the mobile terminal A and the mobileterminal C may be found within the range. From a point of view of themobile terminal C, a mobile terminal may not be found within the range.

Here, simultaneously referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the social networkservice providing system 100 may provide, to the mobile terminal A,information about a user of the mobile terminal B, in response to arequest generated in accordance with a motion of the mobile terminal A.Similarly, the system 100 may provide, to the mobile terminal B,information about users of the mobile terminal A and the mobile terminalC, in response to a request generated in accordance with a motion of themobile terminal B. However, the system 100 may report, to the mobileterminal C that a user is not found since a mobile terminal is not foundin response to a request generated in accordance with a motion of themobile terminal C.

In this instance, when the information about the user of the mobileterminal B is selected in the mobile terminal A, and the informationabout the user of the mobile terminal A is selected in the mobileterminal B, the system 100 may set a relationship between the users ofthe mobile terminal A and the mobile terminal B by associating andstoring the information about the user of the mobile terminal A, and theinformation about the user of the mobile terminal B. That is, the usersof the mobile terminal A and the mobile terminal B may form arelationship such as, an online friendship.

Additionally, the system 100 may process a one-way request to add afriend. In other words, when information about a user of the mobileterminal C is selected in the mobile terminal B, although a mobileterminal is not found in the mobile terminal C, the system 100 maytransfer, to the mobile terminal C, the request of the mobile terminal Bto add a friend, and may set a relationship between the users of themobile terminal B and the mobile terminal C depending on a decision ofthe user of the mobile terminal C.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the system 100 may search for at least oneother mobile terminal using at least one of a local time of a mobileterminal when a request according to a motion is transmitted by themobile terminal, and an arrival time when the request is received by thesystem 100. For example, when the first mobile terminal 110 transmits arequest generated in accordance with a motion of the first mobileterminal 110 at a three hours, three minutes, fifteen seconds mark ofthe clock, and the second mobile terminal 120 transmits a requestgenerated in accordance with a motion of the second mobile terminal 120at a three hours, three minutes, sixteen seconds mark of the clock, adifference between the local time when a request of the first mobileterminal 110 is transmitted and the local time when a request of thesecond mobile terminal 120 is transmitted may correspond to one second.Also, when an arrival time when the request of the first mobile terminal110 is received by the system 100 corresponds to a three hours, threeminutes, twenty seconds mark of the clock, and an arrival time when therequest of the second mobile terminal 120 is received by the system 100corresponds to a three hours three minutes, twenty-three seconds mark ofthe clock, a difference between the arrival time when the request of thefirst mobile terminal 110 is received and the arrival time when therequest of the second mobile terminal 120 is received may correspond tothree seconds. That is, the system 100 may search for the first mobileterminal 110 or the second mobile terminal 120 as a target mobileterminal only when the difference in the local time when the request istransmitted is less than a predetermined difference value, or thedifference in the arrival time when the request is received is less thanthe predetermined difference value.

The local time when the request is transmitted or the arrival time whenthe request is received may be used in a case where location informationof a mobile terminal may be inaccurate, for example, indoors. Thepredetermined difference value may be adjusted and determined based on amargin of error of the location information. For example, from a pointof view of the first mobile terminal 110, when the predetermineddifference value corresponds to two seconds, and the difference in thelocal time is used, the second mobile terminal 120 may be found inaccordance with the request of the first mobile terminal 110 since thedifference in the local time corresponds to one second. However, whenthe predetermined difference value corresponds to two seconds, and thedifference in the arrival time is used, the second mobile terminal 120may not be found in accordance with the request of the first mobileterminal 110 since the difference in the arrival time corresponds tothree seconds. That is, the local time or the arrival time may be usedto guarantee an accuracy of the location information of the mobileterminal. A difference value related to the local time, and a differencevalue related to the arrival time may be different, and also may bedetermined by a user.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a method of searching for a mobileterminal based on location information, distance information, andinformation about a time according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. In FIG. 3, a first arrow 310, a second arrow 320, anda third arrow 330 may simply indicate two-dimensional (2D) locationsbased on location information of a mobile terminal A, a mobile terminalB, and a mobile terminal C, respectively. Additionally, a dotted curve340 may indicate a range in which at least one other mobile terminal maybe searched for based on distance information of the mobile terminal B.Here, times represented on the first arrow 310, the second arrow 320,and the third arrow 330 may indicate local times of the mobile terminalA, the mobile terminal B, and the mobile terminal C, respectively. Itmay be assumed that a predetermined difference value in relation to timemay correspond to three seconds.

When only location information and distance information are used, from apoint of view of the mobile terminal B, both the mobile terminal A andthe mobile terminal C may be found in accordance with a request of themobile terminal B. However, when an accuracy of the location informationis determined to be less than a predetermined value, information aboutat least one of the local time when a request is transmitted and thearrival time when a request is received may be additionally used. Inthis example, since a difference between the local time when the requestof the mobile terminal B is transmitted and the local time when therequest of the mobile terminal C is transmitted may correspond to fiveseconds, which is greater than the aforementioned difference value ofthree seconds, the mobile terminal C may be excluded from a searchresult. That is, information about the local time when the request issent or information about the arrival time when the request is receivedmay be used to guarantee an accuracy of the location information.

Referring to FIG. 1, the social network service providing system 100 mayuse distance information determined by a user. However, according toanother exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the system 100may also use distance information predetermined as a default. Forexample, the system 100 may only search for other mobile terminalsexisting within 10 m from the mobile terminal. In this instance, mobileterminals to be found may be limited to mobile terminals transmitting arequest according to a motion. The system 100 according to anotherexemplary embodiment may further use information about at least one of alocal time when a request according to a motion is transmitted by themobile terminal, and an arrival time when the request is received, inorder to guarantee an accuracy of the location information.

According to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, thesystem 100 may search for at least one other mobile terminal during atime period according to the aforementioned difference value after theinitial request of the mobile terminal, and may provide, to the mobileterminal transmitting the initial request, information about users ofthe at least one other mobile terminals found. In this instance, thesystem 100 may provide, to the mobile terminal, the information aboutthe users of the found mobile terminals at a time after the time periodaccording to the aforementioned difference value expires. Also, thesystem 100 may continuously provide, to the mobile terminal, theinformation about the users at every predetermined update time, forexample, every one second, or every two seconds until the time periodaccording to the aforementioned difference value expires. In such acase, the update time may be considered a first time period and thedifference value may be considered a second time period. Thus,information about the users is provided to the mobile terminal at everyfirst time period during the second time period. The update time may bedetermined and used in order to reduce an inconvenience of the user byreducing a waiting time of the user. The user may also determine theupdate time.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a partial view of a screen 400 of amobile terminal to which information about a user is provided accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The screen 400 mayindicate a part of a screen displaying information about a user. In FIG.4, information 410 about a first user, information 420 about a seconduser, information 430 about a third user, information 440 about a fourthuser, interfaces 450, 460, 470, and 480 used for selecting a user, andan interface 490 used for transmitting, to the social network serviceproviding system 100 described with reference to FIG. 1, a request toadd the selected user as a friend may be respectively displayed on thescreen 400. That is, a user of the mobile terminal may selectinformation about at least one user using the interfaces 450 through 480used for selecting the user, and may provide, to the system 100, theinformation about the selected user using the interface 490 used fortransmitting the request to add the user as a friend.

As an example, the system 100 may form a relationship between the usersby associating and storing the information about the users based on theinformation about the user selected in the mobile terminal. As anotherexample, when a one-way request to add a friend is transmitted, thesystem 100 may provide, to mobile terminals of corresponding users, therequest to add the friend using the information about the users, and mayform a relationship between the user of the mobile terminal transmittingthe initial request, and users accepting the request to add the friend,depending on whether the users receiving the request accept the request.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a socialnetwork service providing system 500 according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. The system 500 may correspond tothe social network service providing system 100 according to anexemplary embodiment described with reference to FIG. 1. That is, thesystem 500 may search for at least one other mobile terminal based onlocation information of a mobile terminal, and distance informationdetermined by a user of the corresponding mobile terminal.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the system 500 may include a request receivingunit 510, an information providing unit 520, a mobile terminalidentifying unit 530, and a user information providing unit 540. Thesystem 500 may further include an information storage unit 550, asnecessary.

The request receiving unit 510 may receive, from a mobile terminal, arequest generated in accordance with a motion of the mobile terminal.Here, the motion of the mobile terminal may be sensed by a sensorincluded in the mobile terminal.

The information providing unit 520 may provide location information ofthe mobile terminal, and distance information determined by a user ofthe mobile terminal. In this instance, the information providing unit520 may further provide information about at least one of a local timewhen a request is transmitted by the mobile terminal, and an arrivaltime when the request is received.

The mobile terminal identifying unit 530 may identify at least one othermobile terminal based on the location information and the distanceinformation. For example, the mobile terminal identifying unit 530 mayidentify at least one other mobile terminal that may be positionedwithin a range determined based on the location information and thedistance information. Additionally, the mobile terminal identifying unit530 may identify, among other mobile terminals transmitting a requestaccording to a motion, the at least one other mobile terminal that maybe positioned within the range determined based on the locationinformation and the distance information. That is, a mobile terminal tobe searched for may correspond to at least one other mobile terminaltransmitting a request, or may correspond to at least one other mobileterminal that may be positioned within a range simply determined basedon location information and distance information.

When the information providing unit 520 further provides informationabout at least one of a local time and an arrival time, the mobileterminal identifying unit 530 may identify at least one other mobileterminal based on the information about at least one of the local timewhen a request is transmitted and the arrival time when a request isreceived. For example, the mobile terminal identifying unit 530 mayidentify, among mobile terminals transmitting a request according to amotion, at least one other mobile terminal that may be positioned withina range determined based on the location information and the distanceinformation, and that may have a difference in the local time when arequest is transmitted or a difference in the arrival time when arequest is received less than a predetermined difference value.

Additionally, the mobile terminal identifying unit 530 may identify atleast one other mobile terminal at every predetermined time during atime period determined by a user of the mobile terminal. The time periodfor identifying the at least one other mobile terminal may be determinedby the user as aforementioned, however, a time period according to apredetermined default value may also be used. For example, apredetermined difference value may correspond to the time period foridentifying the at least one other mobile terminal.

The user information providing unit 540 may provide information about auser of the at least one other terminal. The user information providingunit 540 may further provide, to the at least one other mobile terminal,information about the user of the mobile terminal. In this instance, theinformation storage unit 550 may associate and store the informationabout the user of the mobile terminal and the information about the userof the at least one other mobile terminal when the information about theuser of the at least one other mobile terminal is selected in the mobileterminal, and the information about the user of the mobile terminal isselected in the at least one other mobile terminal. The informationstorage unit 550 may also be included in a separate system connected tothe system 500, instead of being directly included in the system 500 asaforementioned.

When the mobile terminal identifying unit 530 identifies at least oneother mobile terminal at every predetermined time during a time periodfor identifying the at least one other mobile terminal, the userinformation providing unit 540 may provide, to the mobile terminal, theinformation about the user of the at least one other mobile terminalidentified, at the every predetermined time.

The system 500 may further include an information maintenance unit (notshown) to maintain, in a database, information about other users forminga relationship with each user. The information maintenance unit may alsobe included in a separate system connected to the system 500, instead ofbeing directly included in the system 500, as necessary.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a social network service providingmethod according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.The method may be performed by the social network service providingsystem 500 described with reference to FIG. 5. In FIG. 6, the socialnetwork service providing method will be described by describing aprocess of performing each operation by the system 500. Here, operation650 may be selectively performed by the system 500, as necessary.

In operation 610, the system 500 may receive, from a mobile terminal, arequest generated in accordance with a motion of the mobile terminal.Here, the motion of the mobile terminal may be sensed by a sensorincluded in the mobile terminal.

In operation 620, the system 500 may provide location information of themobile terminal, and distance information determined by a user of themobile terminal. In this instance, the system 500 may further provideinformation about at least one of a local time when a request istransmitted by the mobile terminal, and an arrival time when the requestis received.

In operation 630, the system 500 may identify at least one other mobileterminal based on the location information and the distance information.For example, the system 500 may identify at least one other mobileterminal that may be positioned within a range determined based on thelocation information and the distance information. Additionally, thesystem 500 may identify, among other mobile terminals transmitting arequest according to a motion, the at least one other mobile terminalthat may be positioned within the range determined based on the locationinformation and the distance information. That is, a mobile terminal tobe searched for may correspond to at least one other mobile terminaltransmitting a request, or may correspond to at least one other mobileterminal that may be positioned within a range simply determined basedon location information and distance information.

When information about at least one of a local time when a request istransmitted and an arrival time when a request is received is furtherprovided in operation 620, the system 500 may identify at least oneother mobile terminal based on the information about at least one of thelocal time when the request is transmitted and the arrival time when therequest is received. For example, the system 500 may identify, amongmobile terminals transmitting a request according to a motion, at leastone other mobile terminal that may be positioned within a rangedetermined based on the location information and the distanceinformation, and that may have a difference in the local time when therequest is transmitted or a difference in the arrival time when therequest is received less than a predetermined difference value.

Additionally, the system 500 may identify at least one other mobileterminal at every predetermined time during a time period determined bya user of the mobile terminal. The time period for identifying the atleast one other mobile terminal may be determined by the user asaforementioned, however, a time period according to a predetermineddefault value may also be used. For example, a predetermined differencevalue may correspond to the time period for identifying the at least oneother mobile terminal.

In operation 640, the system 500 may provide information about a user ofthe at least one other terminal. The system 500 may further provide, tothe at least one other mobile terminal, information about the user ofthe mobile terminal. In this instance, the system 500 may associate andstore the information about the user of the mobile terminal and theinformation about the user of the at least one other mobile terminalwhen the information about the user of the at least one other mobileterminal is selected in the mobile terminal, and the information aboutthe user of the mobile terminal is selected in the at least one othermobile terminal in operation 650. The operation 650 may be performed bya separate system connected to the system 500, instead of being directlyperformed by the system 500 as aforementioned.

When at least one other mobile terminal is identified at everypredetermined time during a time period for identifying the at least oneother mobile terminal in operation 630, the system 500 may provide, tothe mobile terminal, the information about the user of the at least oneother mobile terminal identified, at the every predetermined time.

The system 500 may further perform maintaining (not shown), in adatabase, information about other users forming a relationship with eachuser. The maintaining may also be performed by a separate systemconnected to the system 500, instead of being directly performed by thesystem 500, as necessary.

FIGS. 1 through 4 may be referred to with reference to descriptionsomitted in FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a socialnetwork service providing system 700 according to another exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. The system 700 may correspond tothe social network service providing system 100 according to anotherexemplary embodiment described with reference to FIG. 1. In particular,the system 700 may search for at least one other mobile terminal basedon location information of a mobile terminal, and information about atleast one of a local time when a request according to a motion istransmitted by the mobile terminal, and an arrival time when the requestis received.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the system 700 may include a request receivingunit 710, an information providing unit 720, a mobile terminalidentifying unit 730, and a user information providing unit 740. Thesystem 700 may further include an information storage unit 750selectively, as necessary.

The request receiving unit 710 may receive, from a mobile terminal, arequest generated in accordance with a motion of the mobile terminal.Here, the motion of the mobile terminal may be sensed by a sensorincluded in the mobile terminal.

The information providing unit 720 may provide location information ofthe mobile terminal, and information about at least one of a local timewhen a request according to a motion is transmitted by the mobileterminal, and an arrival time when the request is received.

The mobile terminal identifying unit 730 may identify at least one othermobile terminal based on the location information and the informationabout at least one of the local time and the arrival time. As anexample, the mobile terminal identifying unit 730 may identify, amongother mobile terminals transmitting a request according to a motion, atleast one other mobile terminal that may be positioned within a rangedetermined based on the location information and predetermined distanceinformation, and that may have a difference in the local time when arequest is transmitted or a difference in the arrival time when arequest is received less than a predetermined difference value. Asanother example, the mobile terminal identifying unit 730 may identify,among other mobile terminals transmitting a request according to amotion, at least one other mobile terminal that may be positioned withina range determined based on the location information and distanceinformation determined by a user of the mobile terminal, and that mayhave a difference in the local time when the request is transmitted or adifference in the arrival time when the request is received less than apredetermined difference value.

Additionally, the mobile terminal identifying unit 730 may identify atleast one other mobile terminal at every predetermined time during atime period determined by the user of the mobile terminal. The timeperiod for identifying the at least one other mobile terminal may bedetermined by the user as aforementioned, however, a time periodaccording to a predetermined default value may also be used. Forexample, a predetermined difference value may correspond to the timeperiod for identifying the at least one other mobile terminal.

The user information providing unit 740 may provide information about auser of the at least one other terminal. The user information providingunit 740 may further provide, to the at least one other mobile terminal,information about the user of the mobile terminal. In this instance, theinformation storage unit 750 may associate and store the informationabout the user of the mobile terminal and the information about the userof the at least one other mobile terminal when the information about theuser of the at least one other mobile terminal is selected in the mobileterminal, and the information about the user of the mobile terminal isselected in the at least one other mobile terminal. The informationstorage unit 750 may also be included in a separate system connected tothe system 700, instead of being directly included in the system 700 asaforementioned.

When the mobile terminal identifying unit 730 identifies at least oneother mobile terminal at every predetermined time during a time periodfor identifying the at least one other mobile terminal, the userinformation providing unit 740 may provide, to the mobile terminal, theinformation about the user of the at least one other mobile terminalidentified, at the every predetermined time.

The system 700 may further include an information maintenance unit (notshown) to maintain, in a database, information about other users forminga relationship with each user. The information maintenance unit may alsobe included in a separate system connected to the system 700, instead ofbeing directly included in the system 700, as necessary.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a social network service providingmethod according to another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. The method may be performed by the social network serviceproviding system 700 described with reference to FIG. 7. In FIG. 8, thesocial network service providing method will be described by describinga process of performing each operation by the system 700. Here,operation 850 may be selectively performed by the system 700, asnecessary.

In operation 810, the system 700 may receive, from a mobile terminal, arequest generated in accordance with a motion of the mobile terminal.Here, the motion of the mobile terminal may be sensed by a sensorincluded in the mobile terminal.

In operation 820, the system 700 may provide location information of themobile terminal, and information about at least one of a local time whena request is transmitted by the mobile terminal, and an arrival timewhen the request is received.

In operation 830, the system 700 may identify at least one other mobileterminal based on the location information and the information about atleast one of the local time and the arrival time. As an example, thesystem 700 may identify at least one other mobile terminal that may bepositioned within a range determined based on the location informationand predetermined distance information, and that may have a differencein the local time and a difference in the arrival time less than apredetermined difference value. As another example, the system 700 mayidentify, among other mobile terminals transmitting a request accordingto a motion, at least one other mobile terminal that may be positionedwithin a range determined based on the location information and distanceinformation determined by a user of the mobile terminal, and that mayhave a difference in the local time and a difference in the arrival timeless than a predetermined difference value.

In operation 840, the system 700 may provide information about a user ofthe at least one other terminal. The system 700 may further provide, tothe at least one other mobile terminal, information about the user ofthe mobile terminal. In this instance, the system 700 may associate andstore the information about the user of the mobile terminal and theinformation about the user of the at least one other mobile terminalwhen the information about the user of the at least one other mobileterminal is selected in the mobile terminal, and the information aboutthe user of the mobile terminal is selected in the at least one othermobile terminal in operation 850. The operation 850 may be performed bya separate system connected to the system 700, instead of being directlyperformed by the system 700 as aforementioned.

When at least one other mobile terminal is identified at everypredetermined time during a time period for identifying the at least oneother mobile terminal in operation 830, the system 700 may provide, tothe mobile terminal, the information about the user of the at least oneother mobile terminal identified, at the every predetermined time.

The system 700 may further perform maintaining (not shown), in adatabase, information about other users forming a relationship with eachuser. The maintaining may also be performed by a separate systemconnected to the system 700, instead of being directly performed by thesystem 700, as necessary.

FIGS. 1 through 4 may be referred to with reference to descriptionsomitted in FIGS. 7 and 8.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it ispossible to form a personal relationship such as a friendship betweenusers only through a motion of generating a motion of a mobile terminal,for example, by shaking each mobile terminal, bumping one mobileterminal and another mobile terminal together, or the like.

Also, it is possible to provide, to a user, information about a user ofat least one other mobile terminal, using location information of amobile terminal and distance information determined by the user, inresponse to a request generated through a motion of the mobile terminalof the user. Additionally, it is possible to provide, to a user,information about a user of at least one other mobile terminal using alocal time when a request generated through a motion of a mobileterminal is transmitted, or an arrival time when the request isreceived.

Also, it is possible to more accurately identify a target mobileterminal to form a relationship with, using a local time of a mobileterminal when a request is transmitted, or an arrival time when therequest is received, in a case where location information of the mobileterminal is inaccurate. Additionally, it is possible to reduce a waitingtime of a user by identifying at least one other mobile terminal to forma relationship with at every predetermined time during a time perioddetermined by the user, and providing information about a user of the atleast one other mobile terminal.

The exemplary embodiments according to the present invention may berecorded in non-transitory computer-readable media including programinstructions to implement various operations embodied by a computer. Themedia may also include, alone or in combination with the programinstructions, data files, data structures, and the like. The media andprogram instructions may be those specially designed and constructed forthe purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kindwell-known and available to those having skill in the computer softwarearts.

Although a few exemplary embodiments of the present invention have beenshown and described, the present invention is not limited to thedescribed exemplary embodiments. Instead, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be madein the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover themodifications and variations of this invention provided they come withinthe scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for providing a social network service,the system comprising: a storage device; a request receiving unit storedon the storage device and configured to receive, from a mobile terminal,a request generated to form a relationship with at least one othermobile terminal, which request is in accordance with sensing a motion ofthe mobile terminal; an information providing unit configured to providelocation information of the mobile terminal and distance informationdefining a predetermined distance based on the location information ofthe mobile terminal; a mobile terminal identifying unit configured toidentify at least one other mobile terminal positioned within arelationship forming range of the mobile terminal determined based onthe location information and the distance information, the at least oneother mobile terminal generating a request to form a relationship withthe mobile terminal in accordance with sensing a motion of the at leastone other mobile terminal; a user information providing unit configuredto provide information about a user of the at least one other mobileterminal to the mobile terminal and information about a user of themobile terminal to the at least one other mobile terminal; and aninformation storage unit configured to store the information about theuser of the mobile terminal and the information about the user of the atleast one other mobile terminal by associating the information of bothusers, in response to the information about the user of the at least oneother mobile terminal being selected in the mobile terminal, and theinformation about the user of the mobile terminal being selected in theat least one other mobile terminal.
 2. The system of claim 1, whereinthe mobile terminal identifying unit is configured to identify, amongother mobile terminals that generated a request to form a relationshipin accordance with a motion received by the request receiving unit, theat least one other mobile terminal that is positioned within therelationship forming range of the mobile terminal.
 3. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the information providing unit is configured to provideinformation about at least one of a local time when the request to forma relationship is transmitted by the mobile terminal, and an arrivaltime when the request to form a relationship is received, and the mobileterminal identifying unit is configured to identify the at least oneother mobile terminal based on the information about at least one of thelocal time when the request to form a relationship is transmitted andthe arrival time when the request to form a relationship is received. 4.The system of claim 3, wherein the mobile terminal identifying unit isconfigured to identify, among other mobile terminals that generated arequest to form a relationship in accordance with a motion received bythe request receiving unit, the at least one other mobile terminal thatis positioned within the relationship forming range of the mobileterminal, and that has a local time difference between the local timewhen the request to form a relationship is transmitted by the at leastone other mobile terminal and the local time when the request to form arelationship is transmitted by the mobile terminal that is less than alocal time difference value, or an arrival time difference between thearrival time when the request to form a relationship is received by theat least one other mobile terminal and the arrival time when the requestto form a relationship is received by the mobile terminal that is lessthan an arrival time difference value.
 5. The system of claim 1, furthercomprising: a user information maintenance unit configured to maintain,in a database, information about other users forming a relationship witha user of the mobile terminal and other users forming a relationshipwith a user of the at least one other mobile terminal.
 6. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the mobile terminal identifying unit is configured toidentify the at least one other mobile terminal at every first timeperiod during a second time period, wherein at least one of the firsttime period and the second time period is determined by a user of themobile terminal, and the user information providing unit is configuredto provide, to the mobile terminal, information about the user of the atleast one other mobile terminal identified at the every first timeperiod.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the motion comprises a shakingof the mobile terminal, a bumping of the mobile terminal, or acombination thereof.
 8. A method of providing a social network service,the method comprising: receiving, from a mobile terminal, a request toform a relationship with at least one other mobile terminal, whichrequest is generated in accordance with sensing a motion of the mobileterminal; providing location information of the mobile terminal anddistance information defining a predetermined distance based on thelocation information of the mobile terminal; identifying at least oneother mobile terminal positioned within a relationship forming range ofthe mobile terminal based on the location information and the distanceinformation, the at least one other mobile terminal generating a requestto form a relationship with the mobile terminal in accordance withsensing a motion of the at least one other mobile terminal; providinginformation about a user of the at least one other mobile terminal tothe mobile and information about a user of the mobile terminal to the atleast one other mobile terminal; and storing the information about theuser of the mobile terminal and the information about the user of the atleast one other mobile terminal by associating the information of bothusers, in response to the information about the user of the at least oneother mobile terminal being selected in the mobile terminal, and theinformation about the user of the mobile terminal being selected in theat least one other mobile terminal.
 9. The method of claim 8, whereinthe identifying comprises identifying, among other mobile terminals thatgenerated a request to form a relationship according to a motion, atleast one other mobile terminal that is positioned within therelationship forming range.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein theproviding of the location information and the distance informationcomprises further providing information about at least one of a localtime when a request to form a relationship is transmitted by the mobileterminal, and an arrival time when the request to form a relationship isreceived, and the identifying of the at least one other mobile terminalcomprises identifying the at least one other mobile terminal based onthe information about at least one of the local time when the request toform a relationship is transmitted and the arrival time when the requestto form a relationship is received.
 11. The method of claim 8, whereinthe identifying of the at least one other mobile terminal comprisesidentifying, among other mobile terminals that transmitted a request toform a relationship according to a motion, at least one other mobileterminal that is positioned within a range determined based on thelocation information and the distance information, and that has adifference in local time when the request to form a relationship istransmitted from local time when the request to form a relationship istransmitted from the mobile terminal less than a local time differencevalue, or a difference in arrival time when the request is received fromarrival time when the request to form a relationship is received fromthe mobile terminal less than an arrival time difference value.
 12. Themethod of claim 8, further comprising: maintaining, in a database,information about other users forming a relationship with a user of themobile terminal and other users forming a relationship with a user ofthe at least one other mobile terminal.
 13. The method of claim 8,wherein the identifying comprises identifying the at least one othermobile terminal at every first time period during a second time period,wherein at least one of the first time period and second time period isdetermined by a user of the mobile terminal, and the providing of theinformation about the user of the at least one other mobile terminalcomprises providing, to the mobile terminal, information about the userof the at least one other mobile terminal identified at the every firsttime period.
 14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising aprogram for instructing a computer to perform the method of claim
 8. 15.A mobile terminal in communication with a system for providing a socialnetwork service, the mobile terminal comprising: a request transmittingunit configured to transmit, to the system, a request to form arelationship, which request is generated in response to sensing a motionof the mobile terminal; and an information receiving unit, configured toreceive, from the system, information about a user of at least one othermobile terminal identified by the system and positioned within arelationship forming range of the mobile terminal determined based onlocation information of the mobile terminal and distance informationbetween the mobile terminal and the at least one other mobile terminal,wherein the request transmitting unit is further configured to transmit,to the system, selected information about a user of the at least oneother mobile terminal in response to the information about the user ofthe at least one other mobile terminal being selected in the mobileterminal by a user of the mobile terminal.
 16. A method of providing asocial network service, the method comprising: transmitting, by a mobileterminal, a request to form a relationship, which request is generatedin response to sensing a motion of the mobile terminal; receivinginformation about a user of at least one other mobile terminalidentified by a social network service providing system and positionedwithin a relationship forming range of the mobile terminal determinedbased on location information of the mobile terminal and distanceinformation between the mobile terminal and the at least one othermobile terminal; and wherein the request transmitting unit is furtherconfigured to transmit, to the system, selected information about a userof the at least one other mobile terminal in response to the informationabout the user of the at least one other mobile terminal being selectedin the mobile terminal by a user of the mobile terminal.